Harry Potter and the Dragon's Tear
by whoeversaidlifewasfair
Summary: Previously called "HP & the Order of the Phoenix", I've re-written it and am now re-posting it. Features Harry & Co's 5th year at Hogwarts, meetingballs, Dragon's Tears, new appearences, new adventures, and much more! Please R/R!
1. The Dream

-- HARRY POTTER AND THE DRAGON'S TEAR -- ( by *whoeversaidlifewasfair* (  
  
A/N: After a VERY long time without writing, easter break, and new ideas; I decided to re-write and repost my version of "HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX". There are some changes in the plot, some corrections and so on; and as you see, the title has changed. Other than that; there are a few little diferences. I want to thank all of the people who read the story and reviewed before; because if it wasn't for you guys; I wouldn't have continued this. This chapter is dedicated to all of you!  
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Warner Bros... No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary.  
  
***  
  
"The Dream" -- Chapter 1 :  
  
Harry woke up, sweating... : The Dream - yet again -  
  
During all the summer, Harry had'nt been able to contact anyone in the Wizarding World he knew; not even his friends, or his Godfather, Sirius, because the Dursleys had installed solid bars on his window again so as to keep him from contacting anyone he knew.  
  
Harry was at first surprised, and had expected that when Sirius saw he wasn't receiving or answering his owls he would come barging into number 4, Privet Drive, hexing any Dursley in sight...  
  
But sadly, it had never happened...  
  
He pondered, as he lay down on his bed again, if Sirius didn't care about him anymore... But no - Sirius would never do that, Sirius wo-  
  
-Or would he? - a little voice from the back of his head shot back.  
  
-HE WOULDN'T !! - Harry shouted to himself, and soon regreted it: if the Dursleys heard him shouting in the middle of the night they were capable of locking him into the cupboard under the stairs again.  
  
Luckily, it seemed that no-one had heard him...  
  
Now he was so isolated, the only thing that reminded him that he was not an ordinary boy with an ordinary past (apart from the thought of Hogwarts, his friends and Sirius - even though he couldn't contact them), was "The Dream" : day after day, in the middle of his sleep, images of terrible scenes he had lived in his last school year passed vividly through his mind, leaving him utterly alone, with only the hot stinging tears rolling down his cheeks, and the pain in his scar.  
  
Cedric lying dead - The pain in his scar - Being tied to the gravestone, the pain of the cords binding him feeling as if it was real; as if he was destined to live it over and over and over again - Wormtail cradling the bleeding stump that was his arm - Voldemort rising from the cauldron - The Duel - His parents ... -  
  
Unhappy memories that seemed to want to haunt him all his life ...  
  
If only somebody was there that he could talk to... Somebody he could confide in...  
  
*** 


	2. Big surprises

"Big Surprises" -- Chapter 2 :  
  
Harry stroked Hedwig's feathers and tried to relax.  
  
After all, in only one month he would be going back to Hogwarts, he would be going back were he belonged... The Dursleys couldn't stop him, and if they didn't let him go, Dumbledore would help, Dumbledore wo-  
  
-But no! - he thought miserably - Dumbledore couldn't help him, Voldemort had come back, and he had to get himself out of any problems, he had to fend for himself.  
  
-Just one month, one month ...  
  
-What?! One month?! That meant he had actually been 15 for around two hours and hadn't even noticed... He looked hopefully at the window, but it was barred, and no owl would be able to fit through that small space.  
  
-What was that? - he said to himself.  
  
And the answer came when something small and fluffy splattered onto his window... It could only be -  
  
-Pigwidgeon !? - Harry half whispered, half shouted; the small owl belonging to his friend was so very small that it had somehow squeezed through the bars of the window... It had probably understood it was a very important delivery and not given up when he saw the bars ...  
  
Harry opened the window and let in the poor battered but still hyperactive owl inside; it hooted feebly and flopped onto hi bed.  
  
Harry took a small letter and a small parcel from the owl and game him some water to drink.  
  
As he opened the envelope he read:  
  
Harry !  
  
What on earth has happened to you? Me and Hermione must have sent you around 100 owls altogether, and they just come back still with the letter. Is something wrong? Don't let the muggles get to you !  
  
I hope you do receive THIS owl, but then again, you might not...  
  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY !!  
  
I hope you like your present, and please answer if you can! - well, you might not even have to ...  
  
See ya, Ron.  
  
P.S. : Mum asked Dumbledore if you could stay for the rest of the summer here at the Burrow, and he said yes, and mum's getting all crazy thinking that something's happened to you because you haven't answered any of our owls ( I think Fred and George wanted to come and snoop around, but mum said that if anyone was going to get you away from the muggles it was going to be her... She's in a foul mood with your muggles you know? ) . The cake is from her.  
  
Hopefully see you soon, BYE !!  
  
-Cake? - thought Harry - how can a cake fit in that small parcel?! Maybe I can't read Ron's writing anymore...  
  
So he opened the parcel and out popped two miniature boxes.  
  
-This must be a joke - thought Harry.  
  
But as he opened one of the boxes, a miniature cake fell in his hand, and quickly swelled to an enormous size, turning into the biggest birthday cake Harry had ever seen.  
  
-Oh! - thought Harry - how stupid of me, they must have used an anti- engorgement charm on the cake so it would shrink!  
  
As he wondered how he would make the enormous cake fit into the loose floorboard under his bed, he went to open the other box, and as he did so, a small marble fell into his hand, and grew to the size of one of the crystal balls they used at Divination.  
  
-Great - Harry thought ironically - Ron knows I hate anything to do with Trelawney and Divination, so why does he give me this?  
  
But as he annoyed himself thinking about that, the globe started glowing with a white light, just as bright as Neville's rememberall, and Harry felt himself get drawn closer and closer to the globe, closer and closer, until his nose almost touched the cold glass, and then -  
  
With some immense strength, he was pulled right into the globe, and stood there banging his miniature fists against the glass wall.  
  
-Why do these things always have to happen to me? - he thought.  
  
First with Dumbeldore's Pensieve, and now with this... this... thing !!  
  
At that, somebody coughed behind him, he turned around and saw he was facing his friend Ron.  
  
-Ron ??!! What the hell is happening here?  
  
*** 


	3. All is revealed

"All is revealed" -- Chapter 3 :  
  
'What ??! Don't you like it? ' - Ron faked an indignant face that quickly twisted into a grin.  
  
'It's not funny Ron! How am I supposed to get out of here? If the Dursleys find out they are positively going to KILL me! '  
  
'Okay, okay but it's still only 3 o'clock in the morning, and they can't hear us, so look here, just let me explain! '  
  
Harry grunted in reply, looking worried, so Ron continued:  
  
'This crystal ball - my present - is actually called a "meetingball"; if two or more people have connected meetingballs, just by touching them they inform the owners of the other connected meetingballs that they are in the meetingroom. Then all the other people have to do is touch their meetingballs too and they will all travel to the meetingroom, which is were we are now. Here we can all talk without anybody knowing. '  
  
They both waited for the effect of Ron's speech to sink in, and finally Harry spoke:  
  
'Yeah but Ron, what about Hermione? Won't she feel left out? '  
  
'Oh' - Ron started, feeling uncomfortable, 'well, you see, I gave her a meetingball too, so we could all talk - you know ... ' he mumbled.  
  
Harry just smiled. 'Great!' he said.  
  
'Harry, it's getting late and I don't want the muggles to catch you, so hide the meetingball somewhere safe and I'll call on you sometime today, or if not, you call on me... Ok? '  
  
'Sure, I'll just have to touch it right? '  
  
'Yep'  
  
'Ok, and thanks! '  
  
'Oh, and Harry - '  
  
'Yeah?'  
  
'You'll have to tell me why you haven't been answering our letters!'  
  
'Oh, it's a long story... ' Harry started.  
  
'Well then, next time we meet you can tell me OK? At least I can tell mum you're OK now. ' he said.  
  
'Sure then - bye!'  
  
'Bye!'  
  
Ron tapped the glass wall surrounding them twice and he disappeared. Harry, imitating Ron, tapped the glass twice and reappeared back in his room.  
  
Sighing, he hid the meetingball under his bed; under the loose floorboard.  
  
The meeting with Ron had been very weird.  
  
He hoped he would be calmer next time so they could talk a bit: he had missed him and Hermione terribly.  
  
With that he took a chunk of the cake as he pondered what he would do for the rest of the day.  
  
*** 


	4. Visitors

"Visitors" -- Chapter 4 :  
  
Everything in his summer life at the Dursley's seemed to quickly have turned around and if favoured him most.  
  
Soon, he would call on Ron by touching his meetingball and they would meet and talk. Harry would tell him about the Dursleys putting bars on his window again, and with a bit of luck Ron would think up some plan with the help on his mischievous twin brothers and they would get him out of his summer prison.  
  
Harry had been thinking about asking Ron where he had got the meetingballs, because he was thinking of buying one for Sirius.  
  
It would be so great to be able to talk to Sirius every day!  
  
It might even come in handy at Hogwarts.  
  
At this, he realised that he had been pacing the room for some time, and ran to get his meetingball, which he took from under the loose floorboard under his bed.  
  
He tapped it once, and was immediately pulled deep into the crystalline depths of the meetingball.  
  
As he did so, two more figures popped at his side: his best friends, Ron and Hermione.  
  
As they did so, Hermione ran to hug Harry, and asked him how his summer had gone, at this, Harry decided he had to tell them both at the same time, but before he could say anything, Ron hushed him and said proudly:  
  
'First of all you have to know that one of the best things about the meetingball is that we can use magic inside it without anybody knowing - '  
  
'But Ron, that's illegal, we're underage wizards and can't use any magic out of the school. ' started Hermione.  
  
'I said no-one will notice, magic can't be detected inside meetingballs, they have magic of their own, you know? And they use it to protect the people inside it, so it provides them with secrecy and cover; any person who isn't invited in the meetingball or who isn't wanted inside can't come in. '  
  
'Great! ' said Harry, liking this idea more every time.  
  
'Ron, I wanted to ask you a favour - could you tell me where you got this meetingball ? '  
  
'No! , it's a present, I can't tell you, I'm sorry. '  
  
'Ron - I don't suppose you did anything illegal to get our meetingballs did you? ' - Hermione said in her know-it-all tone.  
  
'Of course not! ' he said, gulping.  
  
Hermione still looked suspicious, but she decided to not touch the subject anymore.  
  
'Why did you want to know anyway ' - asked Ron.  
  
'Well... I thought I'd like to give one to Sirius too... '  
  
'Don't worry Harry' - he said grinning - ' I already thought about that, and I gave him one too, but wanted it to be a surprise, so I told him not to come until I specifically called him. '  
  
'How do you do that? '  
  
'Instead of just tapping the meetingball, you tap it while you think of the only person you want to call.'  
  
'Ron closed his eyes, faked a concentrated look and tapped the glass walls around them once, and after a while, Sirius appeared with a pop, beaming, at his side.  
  
Harry realised that Ron must have planned this all very well, and silently thanked him greatly.  
  
*** 


	5. Secrecy is best

" Secrecy is best" -- Chapter 5:  
  
Harry just stood there, staring at Sirius.  
  
'Trust Ron to think up something like this.' - he thought.  
  
Sirius had changed a lot since last time Harry had seen him: His hair was clean once more, and well combed, he wasn't so thin, but the sullen look in his eyes that Azkaban had given him hadn't left him.  
  
As he strode to where Harry was and hugged him, Harry realised how fit he still was, the muscles in him arms squeezed him and as he clapped him on the back Harry was nearly bowled over.  
  
No words were needed, everybody seemed to sense that this was a happy encounter.  
  
At last Sirius broke the silence:  
  
'Well, you know you can use magic here without anybody knowing about it, but it's still illegal, so if you don't mind I 'll do the magic while I'm here'.  
  
Without waiting for anybody to answer, he took his wand out and twiddled it thoughtfully, making 4 armchairs, a table, some steaming mugs and a pack of "exploding snap" appear right in front of them.  
  
Hermione looked happy about the fact that Sirius wouldn't let them do any spells, but just sat down silently.  
  
They all realised only then that they where quite tired, they had been standing for a long time, and the armchairs where more comfortable.  
  
Everybody looked expectantly at Harry, who, sensing what they wanted, started explaining everything that had happened to him since he had gone back to the Dursleys. At some point, especially when Harry had talked about the Dursleys putting bars on his window, Sirius looked menacing, and Harry was afraid that he was going to go and hex the Dursleys any moment, but luckily, he didn't seem to want to disappear, or at least not yet.  
  
When he had finished everybody sat sipping their hot chocolate quietly, either looking grim or expectant.  
  
Then Ron stood up suddenly and said:  
  
'I'm afraid I have to go guys, it's late and mum will be getting worried.'  
  
'Have you told her about us seeing each-other with the meetingballs ?' said Harry.  
  
'No, did you want me to? ' he asked.  
  
'If you want, but I was just curious.'  
  
'I wouldn't if I was you' - said Sirius - 'Secrecy will come in handy later you know, and the less people who know about it, the better we'll be.'  
  
'She knows you're innocent now Sirius, don't worry.' - said Ron smiling.  
  
'Oh. '- said Sirius sounding surprised - 'Well I imagined that, Molly was always nice to me, but I wasn't saying it because of that ... '  
  
'It doesn't matter, I didn't intend to tell her anyway, I just asked Harry because he had asked me first, and I'm sorry but I have to go! '  
  
Ron tapped the glass wall twice and disappeared.  
  
'What got into him? Is he angry or something? ' - Harry asked.  
  
'No, don't worry, Molly used to do that too.'  
  
'But -'  
  
'Don't worry! He's got a plan, I bet he has, and It's probably to get you out of here.'  
  
'D'you think so? '  
  
'Yeah'  
  
* * *  
  
Ron was sitting in his bed; it was true, he did have a plan, but first he needed to finish something.  
  
'Fred, George, can you help me a sec please? ' . 


	6. Help may be needed

"Help may be needed" -- Chapter 6:  
  
Harry couldn't even have guessed what Ron was planning, because his idea was as far-fetched as you could get.  
  
The idea had just sprouted in his head, maybe inspired by his favourite comics: " Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle".  
  
His twin brothers, Fred and George, came bounding up the stairs, jumping the steps two by two:  
  
If Ron called them it was probably very urgent, because Ron hardly ever asked other people for help, not even his brothers.  
  
'Any problems Ron? ' asked Fred.  
  
'Yeah, 'cos we can help you if you want.' continued George.  
  
'Umm, well you see I wanted to ask you a favour, it's about your joke-shop, do you have any inventions that...'  
  
The conversation continued in hushed tones, and in 10 minutes, the three of them shook hands in a very businesslike way, and the twins went back to their rooms.  
  
* * *  
  
'Jeez man, where does Ron get these ideas?' said George.  
  
'Don't ask me, but it seems a good start for a new prank, don't you think? ' Fred said mysteriously, raising an eyebrow.  
  
'Nah... Ron was to serious about it, he's got some sort of important plan'  
  
'I hope he isn't in trouble'  
  
'Who, may I ask is in trouble ?! '  
  
'Oh, mum, dear, hehe, nobody... '  
  
'Yeah, we were just, umm... talking...'  
  
'Fred and George, I demand an explanation, NOW !!  
  
'If it has anything to do with that joke-shop of yours, you know what I think!! '  
  
'Oh come off it mum, it's got nothing to do with that! '  
  
'If I find any more of those order forms, I'll, I'll... '  
  
'Mum, if you find any more order forms - which you won't - you have our permission to do what you want with them.' said George exasperatedly.  
  
Mrs. Weasley left them, sighing.  
  
'One of these days those two are going to give me a heart attack' she said exasperatedly as she fed the chickens in the yard. 


	7. Quick arrangements

"Quick arrangements" -- Chapter 7:  
  
Harry still didn't know what to expect about Ron's idea, so he just waited patiently in his room.  
  
He didn't even know what he was waiting for, he just supposed that  
  
Ron would try to call on him with the meetingball, but didn't know when.  
  
Suddenly, as he sat on his bed, he felt a sort of tickling sensation down his spine, and something made him turn around and look at the meetingball, he didn't know what made him look around, but as he stared at the meetingball, it suddenly glowed, and filled the small room with bright white light; Harry had only seen something like that at Hogwarts; it was Neville's "rememberall", but it only glowed when Neville had forgotten something (which was very often), and it glowed in a red colour, not that white light.  
  
Harry felt himself being drawn closer and closer to the meetingball, just like when he had first seen it, but this time he wasn't afraid; when the meetingball absorbed him, he was ready for it, and wasn't even surprised.  
  
As he entered the meetingroom, Ron was already there, with a grim but determined look on his face:  
  
'Harry, I can't talk much now, but just be awake around 12 tonight okay? '  
  
'Yeah, sure, but...'  
  
'I'm sorry Harry but I really can't talk, just stay awake and be ready okay? We'll talk later.'  
  
'Sure' said Harry awkwardly ' see you'.  
  
'Bye! '  
  
'Bye! '  
  
Ron sure could be mysterious when he wanted to... 


	8. Night escape

"Night escape" -- Chapter 8:  
  
Harry paced his room silently, it was only nine thirty and he was nearly sure Ron would be a bit late, but he was already packed and was still fully dressed; he hadn't put his pyjamas on for if in case.  
  
He thought and thought about Ron's plan, he racked his brains thinking what plan Ron could have formed in his head, but still no idea came to him...  
  
It wasn't like he didn't trust Ron or anything, but he would have been happier if he had been told about the plan.  
  
On the other hand, maybe he would just be more nervous, or maybe he would have exploded with happiness, or maybe he would have died of shock, or thought the plan was impossible... And on the other hand, Ron would know best.  
  
* * *  
  
Nobody can imagine how time can fly when you least expect it, and while Harry was thinking, and getting used to the idea that he would have to wait a while until Ron's plan was revealed, there was a knock on the window.  
  
'Harry mate! Are you OK? '  
  
Harry stared at his watch in surprise: twenty past twelve !!!  
  
'Yeah, thanks for coming, how will you get me out of here? '  
  
'I've bought help' said Ron.  
  
Harry couldn't see Ron, but he could guess by his tone of voice that he was trying hard not to crack up with laughter.  
  
'Wassup? ' said Harry bemused.  
  
'I've bought double trouble ' said Ron, finally not able to contain himself, he started laughing his head of.  
  
'Ro-on! ' shouted two voices in chorus, ' this is serious man! '  
  
'Harry was surprised to hear the twins so serious, he hoped Ron's plan wasn't too difficult.  
  
'Come on, hop out Harry, the bars are out' said a voice that was vaguely familiar to Harry.  
  
Harry jumped silently on the windowsill, and gaped at what he saw in front of him:  
  
Ron, Fred, George and Bill, still holding his wand, all sitting on...  
  
A flying carpet ! 


	9. Flight from prison

"Flight from prison" -- Chapter 9:  
  
Harry stared at Ron, aghast: How could Ron own a flying carpet ?!  
  
Wasn't it supposed to be illegal?  
  
'... C'mon, stop gaping at us and hop on, we have to get back home! '  
  
Harry looked at the flying carpet, he wasn't quite sure it was very safe, but he jumped onto it anyway and didn't say a thing in all the journey.  
  
Now you must understand that if you have been brought up in a muggle town, and your only relations are muggles who hate anything slightly unusual, you get to know very little about the Wizarding World, so riding a flying carpet was not Harry's speciality, as he had never been on one in all his life. It was not like riding a broom, which came naturally to him, so at first it was quite scary for Harry, but he dared not say anything in case the twins would laugh at him, because Harry thought of all the Weasleys as his real living family, as he had never known his mother or his father.  
  
At some point, Bill seemed to hesitate and looked at his watch, and Harry wondered why they were in such a hurry, but then again, as he peered over Bill's shoulder, he realised that it was not a watch, but a special wizard gadget, that looked like a cross between a compass, a map and a watch.  
  
If Harry had been asked to use it, he would have had no idea what to do, but to Bill it seemed as easy as handling a Gringott's account, which was what his work was currently.  
  
After some time, the carpet slowed down and lost altitude, and Harry found himself staring at the roof of The Burrow, the Weasleys house.  
  
As they landed swiftly in the yard, Harry had a warm welcome, as he found the whole Weasley family, including Charlie, waiting for him.  
  
Mrs. Weasley seemed happier than last time Harry had been rescued from the Dursleys, possibly because this time she new that her sons were going to pick him up, but on the other hand, Harry thought, flying a magic carpet was as illegal as flying a muggle car, if he was not much mistaken, or perhaps there was some sort of "loophole" in the law, that was, for once, in their favour.  
  
After this, Harry was escorted by all the family to Ron's room, and all his questions were hushed out of him by Mrs. Weasley, who told everyone to be quiet with the excuse that Harry needed sleep.  
  
As he lay down on his bed, just beside Ron's, he had so many questions in his head that he didn't know which one to start asking, but as he had decided to ask Ron how come he had a flying carpet, he heard Ron's quiet snores, and decided to leave all the questions for the next day.  
  
It was unusual for Ron to fall asleep so suddenly, but nobody knew, except him and the twins, that none of them had slept a wink while preparing the plan to rescue Harry from his prison. 


	10. Settling down

"Settling down" -- Chapter 10:  
  
When Harry woke up it took him some time to remember all the surprises that last night had brought him, and as he did so, he realised that by the sound of the hustle and bustle downstairs, he and Ron were probably the only remaining sleepers.  
  
He turned to wake Ron, but saw he looked exhausted, with dark streaks under his eyes that proved he probably hadn't slept in a long time, obviously to finish organising the plan; so he decided to let him sleep some more.  
  
He quietly got dressed and closed the door behind him, walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen.  
  
His calculations had been correct: the small kitchen looked extremely crowded with all the Weasley family, including Bill and Charlie.  
  
'Oh Harry dear, here you are! ' exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.  
  
'Where's Ron? ' asked a drowsy looking Fred.  
  
'I let him sleep, he looked really tired' he answered.  
  
'Gosh! I wish somebody was as kind as you Harry! ' said sarcastically an equally sleepy-looking George, giving a side-ways glance to Mrs. Weasley.  
  
At this there was a crash and a dull thud, and Ron bumped down the stairs, followed by a trail of curses and shouts.  
  
'Ron! ' Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.  
  
'Wha' happened?! ' said Ron as he finally thudded to a stop, and sat there, still in his pyjamas, in front of the kitchen.  
  
'Ronnykins must have been sleepwalking' said a Fred with a singsong voice.  
  
'Oh shurrup! ' said Ron, rubbing his sore back. ' That hurt you know! '  
  
'Really? ' continued George. ' Whoever would have thought so? ' he mocked.  
  
'Oh quit it! ' Ron said.  
  
He was loosing his nerves now.  
  
He walked slowly back up the stairs, and every step was accompanied by a painful "ow" or "ouch".  
  
He came back down moments later, and seemed to be less angry.  
  
'Hi Harry. '  
  
'Hi, and erm... eh... thanks. ' he said slowly, he wasn't really sure how to express the twists of his stomach into words, but he felt very thankful, so it felt like the right thing to do.  
  
Ron waved his hand in a dismissive way and yawned.  
  
Everyone ate breakfast quietly, and Harry was quite glad too, because after all the excitement of last night he now felt extremely tired again.  
  
As they finished, they stored the plates away and both went upstairs to talk alone a bit.  
  
As they entered the violently orange room, Ron slumped onto his bed and Harry sat down heavily on his.  
  
'Well, what did you think of our great rescue? ' Ron said in a slightly sarcastic voice.  
  
'Oh, yeah... thanks again. '  
  
'No, I mean - did you like flying a carpet? '  
  
'Yeah, but erm... wasn't it supposed to be illegal? '  
  
'Yeah, but the ministry changed the rules: you know at the World Cup last summer? '  
  
'Yes. '  
  
'Well this guy was always saying that there was a niche in the market for a family vehicle, and he was quite right really... Dad couldn't have bent the rules even if he wanted to, but the ministry did the job, and now it's as legal as flying a broom... '  
  
'Oh... ' Harry was slightly disappointed; he loved anything to do with brooms, and certainly Quiddich, but what about flying carpets? ... He wasn't really sure about them...  
  
Ron seemed to notice Harry's distant answer, and decided to change the subject.  
  
'Well, what about this year? Who d'you reckon will be new in the Quiddich team? I mean... Now Wood is gone... What will you do? '  
  
'Dunno really... But I'll miss Wood; he was great. '  
  
'Yeah. '  
  
'Last year, even though there was no Quiddich; I missed him too, I dunno why. '  
  
'He might play with England you know? '  
  
'Yeah, he told us too. '  
  
Silence followed this short conversation, and the drowsy friends continued to comment Quiddich matters very absent-mindedly all day. 


	11. Explanations

"Explanations" -- Chapter 11:  
  
After the long talk with Ron, Harry felt a little bit better. The talk had been generally about Quiddich, and at first had been a bit monotone, but had quickly switched to an animated talk.  
  
After that they had set off to play Quiddich with Fred, George, Bill and Charlie. Percy had plainly refused to go and play with them. Seeing as they couldn't use real quaffles, bludgers or snitches, Harry tested his reflexes by playing not only as a chaser, but also as a beater. He batted the apples that were thrown at him from the Weasley team for nearly an hour, and found that even though he could play easily as a beater, he still preferred his post as a seeker: it had more action, and he always knew that the whole match depended on him.  
  
As they got back to the Burrow, Ron pulled him away and asked the question Harry had expected him to hear right from the beginning:  
  
'Did you meet Sirius, again - I mean... alone? '  
  
'No, I didn't have time...'  
  
'Oh... - OK. '  
  
Ron didn't say anything else, but when Harry flicked him a glance, he was surprised to see his worried face.  
  
'Wassup Ron? '  
  
'Huh? ' Ron seemed to snap out of his thinking. 'Oh... What? Er...'  
  
'Nothing... leave it.' said Harry dismissively.  
  
'Oh...'  
  
Ron seemed put down, and still a bit puzzled, but they walked quietly down the little path and arrived in the kitchen just in time for supper.  
  
'Boys, please wipe your shoes before coming in, I don't know how many times I've got to ask you... - Why look! The kitchen is already all muddy!! Shooooo! Come on! Go and wipe those filthy shoes! ' Mrs. Weasley seemed to be in a bad mood, or maybe it was the lack of sleep... She too seemed to have bags under her eyes, and couldn't stifle a yawn or two.  
  
' See! ' she said energetically to the five brothers, ' Harry has allready wiped his boots, he hasn't left even a speck, that's what you should do!'  
  
Harry felt a bit uncomfortable about this, even though it was true, because he was used to wiping his shoes at the Dursleys, but the others just shrugged their shoulders, and set about scrubbing their boots.  
  
Luckily Ron hadn't much mud to take off, because he was more careful than his brothers, so as soon as he finished they excused themselves and set off up the stairs to Ron's room.  
  
Ron seemed to be in a special hurry, but Harry didn't really notice until Ron was a whole flight of steps ahead of him, and he had to break into a trot to keep up with him.  
  
As soon as he closed the bedroom door, Harry turned to Ron:  
  
'Ron, don't hide whatever it is from me, you're acting all strangely!'  
  
'Hush and come! '  
  
Harry was surprised at his answer, but walked to where Ron was searching under the bed, and it wasn't until he pulled out his meetingball that he understood what was happening.  
  
'Oh! ' said Harry in surprise. 'So somebody was calling you? '  
  
'Yep, it's Hermione, and I think it's urgent' .  
  
They both stood in front of the meetingball, which emitted some light that engulfed them both and pulled them into the depths of the glass surface. 


	12. Hermione

"Hermione" -- Chapter 12:  
  
Ron and Harry appeared in the meetingball, and found Hermione sitting there, on one of the couches Sirius had given them.  
  
Her face was tearstained, but she didn't even bother to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks endlessly.  
  
She didn't seem to have seen them, so Ron walked over to her slowly and with caution, he seemed to expect some sort of outburst from her, but nothing happened.  
  
Harry followed him, closely behind, but also clearly waiting for something.  
  
And when Ron sat down, that something happened, Hermione looked up at him, and threw herself on him, sobbing hysterically.  
  
Ron cradled her slowly, rubbing her back.  
  
"Don't worry Hermione, 'S okay, don't worry" Ron spoke soothingly into her hair, but her only answer was to cling onto him for dear life.  
  
Hermione quietened up a bit, and only then she saw Harry.  
  
"Hey" he whispered, smiling at her.  
  
Hermione nodded, but didn't let go of Ron.  
  
She turned to Ron again,  
  
"Ron -" she tried, but her voice cracked, and she went down in flows of tears again.  
  
"Can I... Can I... Stay at The... The Burrow... For a bit?" she managed to gasp between sobs.  
  
Ron smiled at her, and nodded.  
  
He then stood up, making Hermione let him go; and offered her his hand to help her stand, and she leaned on his shoulder to walk.  
  
Harry felt a bit left out, but didn't say anything... Ron seemed to know better than him what to do...  
  
Ron looked at Harry as if asking him a silent question, and he nodded, and walked over to join them.  
  
Hermione smiled weakly at him, but it was more of a ghost of a smile, and he smiled back at her, worry clear in his eyes.  
  
Harry looked at Ron, who at his time nodded, and all three of them touched the glass wall at the same time, and disappeared in a flash, only to appear back in Ron's room.  
  
Ron's room was a mess, clothes thrown all over the place.  
  
Ron gave Harry a pleading look, who hurried to hide some clothes by stuffing them in the wardrobe, or under the bed, or behind his back.  
  
Hermione laughed even if she was in a bad situation, it was a small laugh, but enough to make Ron's ears go bright scarlet.  
  
"C'mon" he mumbled, and sat down on the bed, dragging Hermione down with him.  
  
They both sat there, and Hermione glanced a peek at Ron, who was staring off through the window.  
  
She sighed, and Ron turned to her, his full attention back to her.  
  
"D'you want to tell us about it or shall we wait?" he asked gently.  
  
Hermione shook her head gently, and he nodded, understanding.  
  
Hermione caught a look at her reflection in the nearby window and groaned.  
  
"I look terrible" she said, and indeed she did;  
  
Her eyes whole face was scarlet, and she had the trails of her tears down her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot.  
  
"Toilet's down there, wanna go wash your face?" Harry suggested, finally finding himself useful.  
  
"U-huh" she managed, and tried to get up, only to get dizzy and fall back.  
  
Falling falling falling - she thought, but before she hit the bed, or worse, the floor, someone caught her.  
  
She looked thankfully into the eyes of Ron Weasley, one of his best friends, and noticed how very concerned he looked.  
  
She lay there in his arms, not able to get up again, and Ron swept her up and made her lie down on the bed.  
  
"You need to rest" he said, "are you hungry?"  
  
Hermione shook her head, making her dizziness worse.  
  
She groaned, she was starting to see badly.  
  
She closed her eyes and tried to relax, and only managed for some more tears to slip down the corners of her closed eyes.  
  
Ron was now clearly distressed, having before known perfectly well how to handle the situation, so Harry gestured for them both to leave her, and after one last glance to her, he followed Harry out of the door, closing it quietly after him.  
  
He leaned against the wall and breathed deeply.  
  
He wasn't at all happy, he was happy that Hermione was here, but to see her in that state made him want to kill whoever had made her feel so bad right there and then.  
  
He went down the stairs and then an idea struck him.  
  
There was only one person who could have done this to her... Krum - he thought sourly, and clenching his fists, aimed a punch into the wall, imagining Krum's face there, imagining his nose breaking for the umpteenth time, and stopped imagining things and went back to the crude reality as he looked down at his fist, cut on the knuckles and bleeding hard.  
  
He stared angrily at his fist, and went down to Harry.  
  
"Ron... What the? - Your hand !! What did you do?!"  
  
Ron chose to ignore his comment and sat down heavily, cradling his fist.  
  
"Krum" he muttered under his breath "You'll pay for this !!"  
  
"Oh no you don't..." said Harry as Ron prepared to leave. "What was that you were muttering?" he asked.  
  
"Krum!" he said, "Don't you realise! It's Krum's fault! I told her didn't I? I told her she shouldn't! Look what he's done to her now!" .  
  
"Hey... Ron? Ro-ON?! Ron man, calm down, you don't know it's his fault... Be reasonable"  
  
"Be reasonable? I'll give you reasonable! What the hell do you think happened if it hasn't to do with Krum!" he nearly spat out the name.  
  
"Hey! Don't take it out on me okay? It's not my fault... And I don't know, now calm down okay? Hermione wouldn't want you to be like this".  
  
That fixed it, Ron sat down heavily, looking at his fist again.  
  
"Now stay here okay?" he said as if he was talking to some naughty 5 year- old, "I'm going to get your mum to fix your fist."  
  
"No way!" Ron jumped again, "don't you get it that then we'll have to tell her all about the meetingballs? And Hermione? We'll have to tell her everything!" he finished.  
  
"I don't care, you can't stay with that hand or you won't be able to write your essays" he chuckled, trying to make a joke out of it, "imagine how mad Hermione would be".  
  
At the mention of her name, Ron seemed to feel really bad, and he sunk into his chair, as if wishing it would swallow him into nothingness.  
  
Taking that as a yes, Harry ran off to find Mrs. Weasley, not wanting to wait in case Ron changed his mind.  
  
He found her outside, feeding the chickens.  
  
"Umm, Mrs. Weasley?" he asked, starting to fidget.  
  
"Yes?" she said, surprised to see him. "Is anything wrong dear?"  
  
"Well umm... Ron just hurt his hand and umm... -"  
  
Mrs. Weasley sighed, not letting him finish "that boy..." she muttered, following Harry into the house.  
  
When she found Ron she didn't say anything, she didn't ask any questions, she probably saw how worried Ron was.  
  
She muttered the spell "fascia consanesco" under her breath and a piece of bandage appeared from thin air, seeming wet from something.  
  
Mrs. Weasley rubbed it around Ron's knuckles, making him wince, but nonetheless, cleaning and disinfecting his wound.  
  
She then ordered "obligo", waved her wand and more bandages appeared.  
  
"Stretch your arm out Ron, dear." she said.  
  
Ron did so and the bandage started to wrap itself around his hurt hand all by itself, until it was quite tight and Ron couldn't use his hand, but the pain diminished.  
  
Ron sighed and Mrs. Weasley eyed him, but left into the kitchen.  
  
"Supper in 10 minutes," she said.  
  
Ron groaned again.  
  
" 'M not hungry " he mumbled.  
  
"I don't care" she answered, "go and tell everyone to be ready".  
  
Ron and Harry trudged up the stairs, and after calling everyone (except Hermione, who was sleeping) they went back down.  
  
***  
  
Everyone sat down for supper, and Fred and George eyed Ron's bandage, "Awwww, has Ronniekins hurt his little ha-and?" the said in a singsong voice.  
  
But they shut up as they heard footsteps down the stairs.  
  
Ron gulped and looked expectantly at the bottom of the stairs, where a second later, Hermione Granger appeared.  
  
"Hermione ??!!" all the Weasleys chorused. 


	13. The Bet

"The bet" -- Chapter 13:  
  
The whole Weasley family stared at Hermione, who fidgeted uncomfortably.  
  
"Come and take a seat Hermione" Ron said loudly, bringing all the family back to earth.  
  
"Oh yes dear, do take a seat!" Ms. Weasley had gotten over the surprise very quickly, and after adding a chair to the table, just beside Ron, started mothering Hermione:  
  
"Some potatoes dear? You look awfully white... - Yes! - Do serve yourself to anything you want, - that's right, - a bit more of mash?"  
  
The supper was resumed and no more questions were asked, which made both Ron and Hermione relax slightly.  
  
Ron was clumsily trying to eat with his left hand and hiding his bandaged right hand under the table, but Hermione eventually noticed.  
  
She spoke for the first time since she had sat down, and her voice was cracked, as if she hadn't used it in years: "Ron, what happened to your hand?"  
  
Ron jumped slightly, and muttered something inaudible.  
  
Something seemed to dawn on the twins, their faces lit up, and they grinned evilly to eachother, snickering.  
  
"Boys" Ms. Weasley said warningly to the twins, her eyes narrowed and her voice low.  
  
The twins immediately shut up, and nothing more was mentioned about Ron's injury.  
  
At the end of supper, Hermione quietly excused herself, thanking them all for not asking questions she wasn't ready to answer, and said she would explain it all as soon as possible.  
  
She then walked quietly up the stairs, leaving an astounded Weasley family behind, including a flabbergasted Ron.  
  
His mother gave him a slight push, as if telling him the follow her, and without hesitating, he ran up the stairs after her.  
  
He checked Ginny's room, but of course, she wasn't there.  
  
He ran up to his room, only to find Hermione curled up on his bed.  
  
His gaze softened as he saw her, and he sat down at the foot of the bed, stroking her hair.  
  
"I'm sorry" she said, choking on tears, "I'm being so horrid to you all... I wanted to go now, but I don't know where you keep your meetingball" she said apologetically.  
  
Ron hushed her, "you're in no state to go back home now" as tears of gratitude overwhelmed her again, "you can stay here as long as you want, remember?"  
  
She nodded, she was very tired.  
  
It's too late to prepare a camp bed in Ginny's room for her and all, he thought.  
  
"Hey" he said gently, "do you feel up to sleeping in the same room as two snoring males, or shall I carry you to Ginny's room and prepare a camp bed?" he joked.  
  
She shrugged, laying her head back on his pillow, "Don't mind" she mumbled, leaving Ron to decide for her.  
  
Soon, her gentle breaths told him she was asleep, so he carefully removed her sandals and covered her up with his Chudley Cannons bedspread, smiling.  
  
He didn't know how long he sat there, watching her sleeping form, but he eventually decided he had to talk to his mum about this...  
  
* * *  
  
On his way down the stairs, he met two smiling twins, and he froze.  
  
They had something on their minds.  
  
"What took you so long Ronnie-kins??!!" Fred asked innocently.  
  
"Watching the sleeping beauty?" continued George, nastily.  
  
Ron froze.  
  
Shit! he thought.  
  
"Ooooo! Does that mean we were right?"  
  
He still didn't answer.  
  
The twins dropped there annoying tone and slapped him on the back.  
  
"You chose well Ronnie-kins!"  
  
Harry appeared behind them, grinning.  
  
When I catch him I'll... - Ron thought.  
  
"So..." they said turning to Harry, "we were right weren't we?"  
  
"We guessed about the injury and all... Right?"  
  
Harry nodded sadly.  
  
"Yesssss!!!" the twins exchanged high fives, and then turned on Harry.  
  
"You owe us ten galleons!!"  
  
Harry nodded, definitely sour now.  
  
"But we'll forget about that shall we?" winked Fred, as George mouthed Thanks .  
  
Harry smiled,  
  
The twins hadn't forgotten about his "loan" for their jokeshop.  
  
Ron had no idea what was going on, so ignoring everything, and shaking his head, he went to the kitchen.  
  
Have to talk to mum. 


	14. A bright new day

"A bright new day" -- Chapter 14:  
  
A/N: Well... I just re-read the last chapter... And I positively HATE it !!  
  
ASAP I'll post a new version of it, because it's absolutely horrid...  
  
So much for being happy for posting a new chapter... It sucks!! :*(  
  
Following the advice of Anastazia, (thankx for reviewing!!) I posted this sooner.  
  
It's not that I WANT it to take me so long to update, but it's not easy.  
  
Anyways, on to chapter 14, which is what you really want. Cheers!!  
Hermione looked out of the window in Ginny's room; a bright new day was about to break.  
  
She hadn't slept much that night, not after she had been woken by an apolegetical (A/N: Is that a word?) Ron, who had explained uncomfortably that she was being "moved" to Ginny's room.  
  
She could hear Ginny sleeping in the background, and her mind wandered to the events she would have to explain to the whole Weasley family.  
  
She didn't fancy at all having to explain everything she had been through, but as the Weasleys were letting her stay over, it was the least she could do.  
  
She got dressed quietly, noting how the sun was already getting high.  
  
She tried to make her way quietly to the bedroom door so as to not wake Ginny, but she stubbed her toe on the wardrobe.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
Ginny woke with a start; "Hermione! Are you okay!" she proceeded to totally freak out until she noticed Hermione standing beside the door.  
  
"Just stubbed my toe" she murmured apolegetically, "Sorry to wake you".  
  
Ginny got up in a hurry and hugged Hermione, "don't be," she said kindly, "are you feeling a bit better today?"  
  
"Yeah" she quickly lied.  
  
"I don't believe you" she answered, grinning at her.  
  
"You know me far to well".  
  
They smiled at eachother.  
  
For the first time in what seemed like years, Hermione finally felt loved and happy.  
  
They hugged again.  
  
"Breakfast?" suggested Ginny.  
  
"Sure!"  
  
And much more happily, they descended the stairs together and went to get a nice meal courtesy of Ms. Weasley.  
  
* * *  
  
"Can I have a word with you Ron?" Hermione quietly asked.  
  
"Sure, anytime" he smiled.  
  
They both exited the kitchen after helping clear the table and went to sit on the porch steps.  
  
"About yesterday... - " she started.  
  
"No sweat, - If you don't wanna talk about it, it doesn't matter".  
  
"That's very kind but... I feel like I... Owe you one, - so to speak".  
  
He couldn't help but smile.  
  
They sat in silence for a bit more, Ron fidgeting with the hem of his bandage, that had come loose.  
  
Hermione readjusted it for him, and after exchanging muffled "thanks", she started.  
  
"This summer... I went to Bulgaria"  
  
Ron's fists clenched visibly.  
  
"And... Viktor broke up with me... - "  
  
"- because he said I didn't take him seriously."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Actually - he got jealous when I said I planned to visit you", at this she looked away, "and said that if I fancied... someone else... I could at least tell him..."  
  
"What did you answer?".  
  
"I told him I couldn't go on with him... Because... My heart was with someone else - "  
  
Ron's stomach did a sort of somersault, and he couldn't help wonder why the "chicken korma" he had had for lunch seemed to be afecting him.  
  
(A/N: Har, har, how can he be so... Ron-ish!! )  
  
" - but I still wanted to keep in contact with him, as friends, but he said he didn't want to be 'competition'... "  
  
She laughed sadly.  
  
"And... was it true?" asked Ron cautiously.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That your heart... You know..."  
  
A tiny little voice answered him: "Yea".  
  
"And... who is it?"  
  
"Ron!! " she stood up brusquely, blushing and nearly tripping over.  
  
" What??!! " he answered, as surprised as she was.  
  
"Well... It's like... personal!! You can't ask that!!"  
  
"Why ever not? I'm your friend right?"  
  
"But..."  
  
"Oh".  
  
"What do you mean 'oh' ? "  
  
"It's Harry isn't it?"  
  
Hermione laughed: "Harry! Don't be crazy! He's my friend!"  
  
"And can't you like friends as more than that?"  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
"See! At least you could admit it!"  
  
He was starting to get angry now.  
  
"I don't like Harry, Ron, you have my word on that."  
  
Ron was about to retort 'then why didn't you answer?', but another thought struck him...  
  
A happy thought...  
  
He was her friend too...  
  
************************************************************  
  
A/N: A bit better that last chapter??!! Or not??!!  
  
I actually think I'm losing my touch...  
  
Give me your opinion will ya please?  
  
BTW, "Chicken Korma" is a very good indian dish, if you guys haven't tried it, do it for Ron's sake. ;o)  
  
I know what Hermione replied to Krum was very corny... Not my style, but anyways.  
  
P.S.: I'm STILL looking for new titles for this fic. Any ideas??  
By "whoeversaidlifewasfair".  
READ & REVIEW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	15. Diagon Alley

"Diagon Alley" -- Chapter 15:  
  
"Hey guys, do you fancy a trip do Diagon Alley today instead of next week? We need to buy this year's supplies and everything but if we go today we can spend more time there..." Ron pointed out.  
  
"Sure" his best friends agreed wholeheartedly.  
  
For the fifth time in his life, Harry found himself getting ready to visit Diagon Alley, the first magical place he had actually seen when he was only 11 years old.  
  
Granted, it wasn't like he hadn't travelled by Floo Powder before, but still, the memories of landing in Knockturn Alley were still a bit haunting.  
  
So when his time came, he grabbed a pinch of the powder, chucked it into the fire, stepped into the fireplace of The Burrow, and closing his eyes, shouted as clearly as he could his destination.  
  
"Diagon Alley!"  
  
In the midst of a whirl of fireplaces and flames, Harry stopped spinning only to land in the one an only Diagon Alley.  
  
* * *  
  
Back at the Burrow, Ron followed suit, and landed in a dusty pile beside Harry.  
  
Hermione waited cleverly for a bit until she stepped into the fire, so as to not land in a heap with his best friends.  
  
Nonetheless, when she landed in Diagon Alley, she fell backwards with the soot and found herself falling - into the arms of Ron Weasley.  
  
It took her a while to realise why she hadn't hit the floor, and as she gazed upwards into the blue eyes of her best friend, she heard clearly the distinct sound of someone snickering.  
  
Turning, she stared angrily at her other best friend, whose tousled hair look no better after his sooty voyage.  
  
"I don't think anyone asked your opinion - how nice of you to express it so well" she said sarcastically, while untangling herself from Ron's arms.  
  
Harry fought hard trying to keep his face straight, but lost the battle, dissolving into pits of laughter and rolling on the floor.  
  
"Children, children!" mocked Ron.  
  
* * *  
  
"Right" said Hermione checking her list, "only Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 left".  
  
With that, the aged shopkeeper handed her the requested book, and she stuffed it in her already over-filled bag.  
  
"Hermione, don't you think you're overdoing it?" asked Ron, who's bag was considerably much lighter, not to say emptier, that hers.  
  
"I only got a couple of new books for light reading and what was on the list" she said, as if this explained everything.  
  
Ron shook his head and the trio left the shop.  
  
On their way to the ice-cream parlour, Ron whispered to Harry: "I wonder if she'd still think it was 'light' reading if that book fell on her toe..." to answer that, they both snickered.  
  
"What's so funny?" asked Hermione curiously.  
  
"Oh - nothing" said Ron, his poker face not revealing anything.  
  
"What have we got left?" asked Harry, changing the subject.  
  
Hermione checked her lift for the umpteenth time,  
  
"I'm all done actually".  
  
"Good! We can go and do something that hasn't got to do with school" said Ron.  
  
Hermione sighed.  
  
As they passed a shop, Harry couldn't help but be captivated by a small purple gem in the shape of a tear that was on display.  
  
'Dragon's Tear' red the note beside it, 'powerful gem with protective charms'.  
  
"Wait a sec" he told his friends, as he rushed into the shop.  
  
"Can I help you?" asked the shopkeeper.  
  
"Yes please, I want to enquire more about the Dragon's Tear please, and if you could possibly have three gems on sale" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Ah," sighed the shopkeeper, "the Dragon's Tear, a very powerful gem that is, yes, I happen to have only three gems left, so that'll be just right for you young sir".  
  
"Can you explain a bit more how it works please sir" said Harry respectfully.  
  
"Indeed, yes. The Dragon's Tear casts a spell on it's owner that protects it from any immediate danger, so that, for example, if the owner of the gem is attacked, a protective magic circle will appear around him, and no force will be able to penetrate it" he finished in a quiet, mysterious voice.  
  
"I dare say that it might come in handy for you, Mister Potter" he said slyly.  
  
Harry looked up.  
  
He didn't like this shop keeper at all.  
  
"I'll take three then" he said, wanting to get out of the creepy shop as soon as possible.  
  
"The best way to carry it, is with a chain around your neck" explained the shopkeeper while he wrapped the three purple gems into different packets.  
  
Harry nodded, and after paying, exited the shop as fast as his legs could carry him.  
  
* * *  
  
"What did you buy Harry?" enquired Ron.  
  
"I'll show you when we get back to The Burrow"  
  
"U-oh" he said to Hermione, noting the tone of Harry's voice, "Party's over..."  
  
The three headed for the fireplace in the nearest shop, and after using the remaining of the Floo Powder they had kept, headed back home.  
  
* * *  
  
"It's called Dragon's Tear, it's a gem with a protective charm that casts a sort of magic circle around you, so you can't be harmed" he explained as he gave Ron and Hermione their gems.  
  
"I've heard about it" Hermione said, unwrapping hers and looking closely at it, "I can't believe you managed to get it".  
  
"Geez! Thanks Harry!" said Ron.  
  
"Yeah, thanks" said Hermione, seemingly breathless, as she continued to observe her gem from every different angle.  
  
"The shopkeeper suggested that we put them with a chain or something around our neck".  
  
They nodded and used the tough cord Harry gave them to do so.  
  
"It's only for the time being, then you can buy another one if you want" he said.  
  
They nodded.  
  
They sat in silence, knowing that they would surely need the gem in the new year at Hogwarts, and each pondering their own thoughts.  
  
Hermione undid hers and stared into it once again, "we should do some research about it, we need to know exactly what it does" she said stubbornly.  
  
Ron groaned, but he knew as well as Harry that she was right, as always. 


	16. Research

"Research" -- Chapter 16:  
  
Hermione leafed busily through her new books.  
  
"I told you they'd come in handy didn't I?"  
  
Ron shrugged, pretending clearly that he was very interested in one of her books, but not paying any attention to it.  
  
After a while of research; Hermione scolded Ron: "Ron, you can quit pretending to read that book, you've spent the last ten minutes on the same page" she said.  
  
Ron muttered "Sorry" and quickly started to read for real.  
  
* * *  
  
"The Dragon's Tear" Hermione read out loud, "is a small purple gem in the form of a tear. It contains a powerful protective charm that casts itself over the owner when the gem is worn". She glanced up at them, and found them both listening intently.  
  
"The gem casts an invisible protective magic circle around its owner, and when it feels a source of will power that wants to attack the owner, the magic circle will be visible for a fleeting second, just before it discharges magical energy powerful enough to stop practically any attacker doing any harm to the owner".  
  
"When the force-field the gem casts is visible, it will take the form of an animal with which the owner feels identified. The full power of the energy also depends on how powerful the owner is."  
  
There was a short silence.  
  
"It's a bit like a Patronus right? Mine took the shape of a stag, and it also protects you from nearly everything, even the Dementors".  
  
"Hmm" Hermione agreed.  
  
"Maybe you two should learn how to do the Patronus too... It might come in handy" he said glumly.  
  
"It's supposed to be very advanced magic - " started Hermione.  
  
"Yes, but I managed it in third year, even though it wasn't very powerful until the day with Buckbeak and everything" .  
  
Ron frowned angrily, probably as he thought about Peter Pettigrew.  
  
"We'll be in fifth year now but... Who would show us?"  
  
"I don't know... I wish Lupin was back for the Defence Against Dark Arts Jobs though".  
  
"Well... He might be..."  
  
"Not after Snape spread it to everyone".  
  
"But he's tame !!"  
  
"Yes, but the parent's can't be sure can they?"  
  
The three friends looked down in the dumps.  
  
"Maybe Lockhart will come back" Harry joked.  
  
The result of his words was extremely funny:  
  
Ron flushed angrily and muttered something that Harry was sure he wouldn't have said in front of Mrs. Weasley.  
  
Hermione just looked away.  
  
Harry had to control himself so's not to burst out laughing  
  
* * *  
  
The Lockhart incident not quite forgotten, the trio made their way out into the yard, only to find it was 'dangerous land', as the twins were trying out the inventions for their joke-shop.  
  
"Care for a jam tart Hermione dearest?"  
  
"No thanks Gred, I don't fancy turning into a great big canary" she replied, her tone acid.  
  
"Okay" said George simply, and turned to his next victim.  
  
"Harry!" he exclaimed, with the air of a proud uncle fond of his nephew.  
  
Harry smiled nervously and took a step backwards.  
  
"He heh, no thanks."  
  
"You guys are just no fun!"  
  
The twins turned away and headed to the house, probably to find some more adequate people to test their inventions on.  
  
The three walked around for a bit, talking little and thinking much.  
  
With only a eight days left until they had to go back to Hogwarts, Harry found himself, for the first time in his life, wishing he didn't have to go back.  
  
What's changed? he wondered.  
  
Maybe it was the fact that he knew that once he set a foot inside Hogwarts, he would be even more aware of everything that happened in the wizarding world, that Voldemort was back, that innoccent people would die again, that Voldemort would probably try and get him again, and that he was putting in danger everyone around him...  
  
His life was the nearest you could get to hell - he thought as he kicked a stone and watched it bounce of a bush, followed by a volley of curses probably from an unfortunate gnome.  
  
Ron broke the silence.  
  
"It'll still be a while till supper, what do you guys fancy doing?"  
  
Hermione seemed about to suggest reading a nice book, but didn't say anything.  
  
Harry muttered something that sounder like "be moaning" and as his friends shot him surprised looks, he streched a hand under the bush he had thrown the stone in and pulled what looked like a muddy potato with legs.  
  
He swung it skillfully round his head and threw it as far as he could.  
  
"De-gnoming" he said more clearly, "it relieves stress" he grinned.  
  
Hermione, who hadn't ever de-gnomed a garden before, watched as they threw the poor gnomes to the other side of the fence and soon caught on.  
  
Later, as the three muddy, tired, but feeling much better friends trundled into the kitchen, they informed Mrs. Weasley that they had de-gnomed the garden succesfully. 


End file.
